The Role of the School Nurse

BY Erin Gifford RN
School nursing has been in effect since the 1800s in England (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2008). In the early 1900s, school nursing was in full effect in the United States to assess school aged children for the spread of infectious diseases (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2008). In today's world, school nurses hold a variety of roles. The school nurse is responsible for the direct care of school aged children during the hours of school. This entails assessing injured children, providing care to ailing children, or administering medications to children with disease processes such as diabetes mellitus. Nurses can also be employed in a boarding school setting, where they are responsible for the care of children 24/7 (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2008). The school nurse is also responsible for education. The school nurse educates students on a wide array of subjects ranging from hand washing to safe sex. The school nurse also functions as a case manager. For example, school nurses help to arrange health care for children with many comorbidities or complex health issues (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2008). The school nurse also acts as a consultant. The school nurse is responsible for providing health information to school administrators, teachers, and parent-teacher groups (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2008). The school nurse also acts as a counselor to troubled youths, or just students with health concerns. Nursing is viewed as a trustworthy occupation. School nurses also participate in community outreach. This entails community health fairs or festivals, immunization programs, health education fairs, blood pressure screenings, or local charities to promote education (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2008). The school nurse must also function as a researcher to ensure that the care she is providing to the students is evidence based. As you can see, clearly school nurses function in a wide array of roles, and are a very important asset to the community.

References
Stanhope, M. & Lancaster, J. (2008). Public Health Nursing: Population-Centered Health Care in the Community. St. Louis, Missouri: Mosby Inc.

NOTE: This blog post reflects the work of a Registered Nurse with minor editing by Shirley Comer RN and was completed as a class assignment. The content of this blog is for informational purposes only. Before beginning or changing a treatment or lifestyle regime you should consult your primary health care provider.